


Do You Want Fries With That?

by Ladytalon



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Humor, Embarrassment, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Prompt Fill, Silly, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Temper Tantrums
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-24 00:09:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7485660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladytalon/pseuds/Ladytalon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mei-Ling meets her soulmate when she's almost given up, and makes a conscious decision not to claim him...only to run into him years later after he's given up entirely.  What happens next will warm your heart!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do You Want Fries With That?

**Author's Note:**

> ...your eyes will probably roll a little bit, too.
> 
> The [Overwatch kink meme](https://overwatch-kink.dreamwidth.org/679.html?thread=247463#cmt247463) got me again. Originally I had Jack angsting it up, because I think it's natural that he would be extremely upset and angry...but the request was specifically for something funny, and I just don't have time for that kind of drama, so this fic happened instead. I'd like to apologize in advance to all of you, my mother, and the family dog.

Mei-Ling doesn’t meet her soulmate until she is twenty-nine years old and a sudden, strange warmth on her wrist signifies that it’s really and truly _happened_. She’d thought her soul mark might never manifest, and when it does Mei can do nothing but stare in confusion because it must be a mistake. There’s no possible way that the big, beautiful man looking down at her could be meant for _her_. Disbelief stops up her mouth and one of his eyebrows quirk slightly, his expression turning puzzled when Mei doesn’t reply to his greeting. When she barricades herself in the bathroom later and pulls up her sleeve, Mei will see _It’s a pleasure to meet you_ written there but for now, all she can do is nod fiercely and duck her head to hide her embarrassment.

“Maybe we’ll see each other later,” the man says, still trying to be polite even in the face of seeming disrespect. She takes a deep breath, prepared to speak, but then Mei’s struck by the nearly paralyzing fear that her own words won’t etch themselves upon the skin of this golden god – she’s never known anyone this handsome could even exist outside of a movie screen. Whatever she says to him could never be good enough. 

No, she’s not going to say anything. Mei swallows her words and gazes up into those impossibly blue eyes, nodding to indicate that _yes_ , she will most certainly see him later. There’s no possible way she can avoid it, because he’ll be escorting her team to Watchpoint: Antartica. Jack Morrison excuses himself with a slightly baffled smile and Mei feels absolutely miserable as her soulmate walks away.

She manages to turn conversational avoidance into an art form and conducts all communications through her assistants. They feed him falsehoods about a sheltered upbringing and a general distrust of males in general – this one’s relayed by one of her friends as a joke that’s not that funny, and she’s pretty sure Strike Commander Morrison takes offense at it but he remains unfailingly courteous just the same.

One of the worst days of her life is when his team leaves them at the Watchpoint, and he makes sure to say goodbye and wish her luck. Mei knows she should say something - _anything_ \- but her tongue remains tied and the only thing she can do is bow in farewell.

There are several times when she despairs of the words emblazoned on her arm, and in his own handwriting – because that’s apparently how it works. Her own parents’ wrists have always been bare so she can’t ask them for guidance…but they _do_ love each other, and it seems to be enough for them. It’s better this way, Mei tells herself. She hasn’t tied him down, and won’t even try. He’ll be better off.

Years later, when a team of Overwatch agents open her cryostasis pod, Mei learns that Jack Morrison isn’t better off at all…he’s not _anything_ , because her soulmate has died while she was locked into a dreamless sleep.

She doesn’t stop to wonder why his first words are still as legible now as they’d been 28 years earlier.

Mei struggles to forget what she could have had, because there’s so much life that’s slipped between her fingers. Many times she finds herself idly tracing Jack Morrison’s penmanship, wondering what it might have been like and if he would have loved her. Really _loved_ her. The recall pulls Mei out of her self-pity, and it heartens her to have a purpose once more. She works on developing her tech as well as her relationship with her new team…which is when the first clues begin to emerge.

Zarya comments on Mei’s mark one night, touching the words with one huge fingertip. “You have the words, here…who is it?” her new friend asks, shaking her head with a laugh when Mei has to tell her that her soulmate is dead. “If so, you would not still have _this_.” Zarya further confounds Mei by relaying several more things that she should have apparently known by now…including the fact that the soul mark will feel warm to the touch when its mate is close by, but only when both have fully manifested.

The news spreads to the younger members of Overwatch and both D.Va and Lucio are swept away by the tragic romance of it all, to Mei’s dismay. Even Reinhardt is ready to find her missing half, though his reaction to it is slightly odd when she confesses whose handwriting adorns her wrist…he seems to think that she should become acquainted with the most antisocial member of their team. Mei doesn’t have the heart to tell Reinhardt that the last thing she wants to do is have a conversation with Soldier: 76. For that feat to even be accomplished, he would actually need to talk for more than three seconds at a time – the man doesn’t seemed that inclined to speak to _anyone_ , least of all her, and that suits Mei just fine.

She does, however, know a great ass when she sees one…and with her hope restored, Mei finds herself in a position to actually enjoy looking. Mei finds him attractive even though the white hair shows that he’s not exactly in the prime of his life – neither is she, despite outward appearances. It’s amusing to her that they’re actually contemporaries…Mei’s probably even older than he is. She’s not too wild about the perpetually grouchy attitude, but nobody’s perfect.

The day she finally sees his face, their group has gathered at a bar little better than a hole in the wall and 76 comes along as the designated escort, because the last thing they need is for a Talon operative to blow the place sky high when they’re all too drunk to stop it. 

Mei is laughing with Hana and Angela, mercilessly teasing Jesse McCree about Hanzo – whom he’s definitely _not_ interested in, Jesse insists as he tugs the brim of his hat down to hide his eyes – when the other two women notice her looking over at 76. “We have a new target,” Angela announces, eyes alight with mischief. “Hana? Look.”

“Oh ho _ho_ ,” Hana says, immediately zeroing in on Mei’s flushed cheeks. “ _Someone_ wants to play in the snow.”

“That does not make sense,” Angela says with a loud hiccup.

Hana shakes her head and tries once again to reach for the pitcher of beer before it’s moved out of range. “Yes, it does –because Mei uses ice and his hair is white like snow,” she argues. “Just go over and say you’d like to slide down his southern peak.”

“Hana! _No_.”

Angela hiccups again and frowns as she turns to peer at Mei. “You have never said a word to him, yes? Why not go say hello…and _then_ ask to visit the south peak.” The two women start laughing and Mei shakes her head, trying not to laugh at it herself. “It does not _matter_ that he doesn’t have your mark – you don’t need that for” Mercy digs her elbow into Mei’s ribs and waggles her eyebrows “ _fun_.”

Mei has to laugh at how suggestive and over-the-top Angela is acting. “Yes. I will go over and ask how it is hanging.”

Jesse catches the tail end of this and pounds on the table. “Hell _yeah_ , li’l lady! Get on over there an’ find that out!”

“Nobody asked you,” Mei points out. “It was just a joke.”

D.Va holds her hands up for their attention. “I have the best idea. If _he_ goes up to Hanzo and…I dunno, flirts loudly or something, then _Mei_ has to go use a pickup line on Grandpa 76 over there.”

McCree immediately looks so uncomfortable that Mei breathes a sigh of relief. “Let’s talk about something else,” she says brightly.

“Now, _now_ , ladies – didn’t say I wouldn’t do it,” Jesse drawls. His chair screeches loudly as he pushes it back to stand, and they’re all treated to the sight of one very alarmed-looking archer as McCree strides over to him. “Hey there, good-lookin’ – whatcha got cookin’?”

Hanzo’s incredulous response is lost as Junkrat looms over them curiously, a dust-covered can of Foster’s clutched in one hand. “What’s goin’ on?”

“There’s a bet,” Hana announces. “Mei’s going to go hit on 76.”

“Ooooooh.” The Junker plops himself down uninvited and slurps at his beer. “Hog, you gotta see this…”

Within seconds the news spreads to all but the intended victim, who is still glaring out the window as if issuing a dare to every living thing beyond the glass. “Go over there,” Mercy hisses.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Mei stalls. She’s soon bombarded with suggestions and somehow allows herself to be towed over in front of Soldier: 76.

He looks up. “Is there a problem.”

Lucio grins. “Yeah man, she’s got something she wants to say to you.”

Mei takes a deep breath and, instead of just one ridiculous pickup line, about four of them come out of her mouth at once all tangled together. “How would you often come with your shake fries hanging in the out of this world ass?”

76 stares up at her in dawning horror – not that she can blame him for how she’s mangled a single sentence – and slowly rises to his feet where he stares at her some more from a different angle. “Excuse me,” he says finally, and turns on his heel to walk through the door.

The rest of the team erupts into laughter and Mei claps her hands over her face. She can’t believe she’d just said that. “That went well,” McCree hoots, slapping his thigh. 

“Maybe you should try again,” Reinhardt suggests from his place in the corner.

Mei returns to the table, still feeling so embarrassed that she wishes she could just sink through the floorboards. “That was awful. I feel so embarrassed,” she moans, fumbling for the pitcher of beer. Maybe if she gets drunk enough, she’ll forget all about it.

The deep rumble of Reinhardt’s voice pierces the excited babble of her teammates as they continue teasing her. “Go speak with him, _Mausebär_.”

Yes, she supposes that she _should_ apologize. She’d have to soon in any case, because she’s obviously offended him deeply. Mei winces as she watches 76 aggressively pacing back and forth outside, stopping to kick a trashcan across the street with a loud _bong_ that's audible even inside. “Okay. I will go.”

“We will make sure your funeral is very nice,” Angela says seriously, then hiccups even louder than before. “Herr _Gott_ , these hiccups…”

Mei steels herself to walk over and open the door, uncomfortably aware that everyone behind her is watching avidly. Still, there’s an apology she has to deliver and she won’t run away from doing the right thing. “Ah…hello?”

The door closes behind her, muting the noise coming from within the bar. 76 aims another kick at a utility pole. “I suppose you think that was _funny_ ,” he growls.

“I am sorry, it was on a dare,” Mei says, looking down. “It was very inappropriate.”

“A dare,” 76 says, looking increasingly wild-eyed. “A _dare_ \- well, that’s just fantastic. All this time and it has to be a _dare_.”

"Um…what?"

He holds up a finger. "Hang on just a second." Mei stares as 76 goes charging across the street for the dented trashcan and gives it another kick that sends it up into the air. At least, it would go up into the air if it didn't ricochet off of a corner of a nearby building and bounce back to knock 76 down onto the sidewalk. He flails upright and kicks it again, then starts jumping up and down on it while yelling at the top of his lungs.

Mei's never seen a senior citizen having a temper tantrum before, and she's taken aback by the sheer volume of profane language that's emerging from 76's mouth. "Oh, my _goodness_." She glances over her shoulder for the help that's not coming from any of her teammates because they're too busy shoving their faces against the glass and laughing. Genji gives her a thumbs-up. Fareeha is laughing so hard that she's in tears. Hanzo looks like he's just remembered that he's left the stove on.

76 stomps back over to her once the offending trashcan has been flattened to an oblong metal plate on the sidewalk. "What…what _was_ all that?" he bellows at her.

"I….er, it was…was a, um, p-p-pickup line?"

"Was it just one, or was it twelve of them? I want you to go sort through that goddamn mess and tell me _exactly_ what that was meant to be." Mei shrinks back, wondering if he's about to become violent, but 76 grabs her arm to keep her from running. For some reason, despite the chill in the air, her arm actually feels _warm_. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I _am_ going to make you stand right here until you explain yourself. So, I definitely caught 'do you come here often.' What else."

"Uh-"

"What. _Else_."

Mei stops wondering why her arm feels so warm, because someone's set fire to her face when she wasn't looking. "How is it hanging?"

"Excuse me?"

"That's…you _asked_ ," she wails.

76's expression is unreadable as he looks down at her, and he releases his grip on her arm. "Fine, then that makes two. Go on."

"Do…do…you want-" Mei breaks off to cover her face. "I'm sorry!"

"Keep going, I want to hear this. Do I want… _what?_ "

Mei fans the air in front of her burning cheeks. "Do you want some fries with that shake."

"Three."

"The last one is, um, about your pants?" Mei coughs and hugs her chest, feeling absolutely miserable. "Did they come from the moon, because…because…" 

She mumbles the last part and 76 leans forward, cupping a hand behind his ear. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

Mei squirms with embarrassment, acutely aware that this makes her look like a toddler doing the potty dance. "Your…your ass is out of this world."

76 rubs his hand over his mouth and spares a glance over his shoulder. "Well, it's not bad. You know, you look pretty embarrassed right now, Mei."

"Why did you do that to me? You could have just said it was inappropriate," Mei says, brushing away the tears that have started to form in her eyes. "You didn't have to be so _mean_."

"I think you deserved it," he says, and she looks up at him in disbelief that anyone could be so cruel, "because now I have to walk around for the rest of my life with a pick-up line combo on my arm. Almost thirty years, and you couldn't have used that time to think up anything better than that…absolutely fucking _incredible_."

Mei's heart stops as Jack Morrison lifts his arm in front of her face and slides back his sleeve to reveal _How would you often come with your shake fries hanging in the out of this world ass?_ imprinted into his flesh. "It's in Hanzi. Not in English," she blurts.

Jack pulls his arm back and looks at it for what has to be the first time, because his eyes widen in surprise. He must have felt the mark and then the impulse to assault a trashcan had kicked in before he'd even bothered to actually _read_ it. "Oh. Well, you still made me wait," he says stubbornly, then looks back at her with a sigh. "Stop crying."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't suppose you're finally going to tell me why you refused to speak to me when we met." Jack holds his hands out to her. 

Mei slowly reaches out to place her hands into his, and is surprised to realize she now knows what all those sappy soulmate romance novels are talking about…because it really _does_ feel like coming home. "Yes, but…not tonight."

"Later, then. I hope it's not something stupid like you thought I was really shallow," Jack says with the first smile she's ever seen on his face since they'd first met. Mei can't control the guilty look on _her_ face, and his eyes widen. "Oh, come _on!_ "


End file.
